The Seattle Times listed the top Food Books to give (or get) this year for Christmas - so in case you missed it, here's the list:
1. The Food Snob's Dictionary: An Essential Lexicon of Gastronomical Knowledge
I told you all about this indispensible little book in an earlier post - it's funny and enlightening.
2. Gluten Free Girl, by Shauna James Ahern
I'll admit, dosen't sound appealing but the Times gave it high praise.
3. Cooking: 600 Recipes, 1500 Photography, One Kitchen Education by James Peterson
A step-by-step guide to everything food.
4. The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution by Alice Waters
This has over 250 recipes - Alice's motto is: "Eat locally and sustainably; eat seasonally; cook simply, using all your senses..."
5. Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook by Marlowe & Company
Whatever....
6. Mediterranean Harvest by Martha Rose Shulman
This has everything from Tuscan bean soups to simple pizza with "great techniques..."
7. The Young Man & The Sea: Recipes & Crispy Fish Tales from Esca by David Pasternack & Ed Levine
The Times said this is an inspiring book for anyone who loves seafood....oh Nemo!
8. A Great American Cook: Recipes from the Home Kitchen of One of Our Most Influential Chefs by Jonathan Waxman
This guy is passionate about his food - from simple to elaborate - how can you not like that?
9. Harumi's Japanese Home Cooking: Simple, Elegant Recipes for Contemporary Tastes by Harumi Kurihara
Over 70 recipes that'll have you saying Dough-Moe-Arie-Got-Toe in no time!
10. 1080 Recipes by Simone and Ines Ortega
This has been Spain's best-selling cookbook for more than 30 years - but has only recently been translated....sounds like a winner to me!
11. The Seventh Daughter: My Culinary Journey from Beijing to San Francisco by Cecilia Chiang
Recipes with a glimpse into an extraordinary life.
12. Desserts by the Yard: From Brooklyn to Beverly Hills, Recipes from the Sweetest Life Ever by Sherry Yard
Sherry is a dessert chef for Wolfgang Puck and every pastry in the country wants this book.
13. A Geography of Oysters: The Connoisseur's Guide to Oyster Eating in North America by Rowan Jacobsen
Hmmm, I think I'll pass on this one as I loathe oysters.
14. How to Pick a Peach by Russ Parsons
The Times described this as personal, practical and eminently useful.....you be the judge.
15. Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally by Alisa and J.B. Mackinnon
A British Columbia couple's 100 mile diet....interesting, no?
16. Service Included: Four-Star Secrets of an Eaves-dropping Waiter by Phoebe Damrosch
This just sounds like my cup of tea...
17. The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry by Kathleen Flinn
A former Microsoftie goes to Le Cordon Bleu and writes about what she learned.
18. The Sushi Economy, by Sasha Issenberg
Apparently this is meant for sushi maniacs, so I need not apply.
19. Secret Ingredients: The New Yorker Book of Food and Drink by David Remnick
This offers up decades worth of goodies - a literary foodstuff.
20. The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan
A best seller now out in paperback - the Times said this should be required reading in highschools across the country...."grab a mug of hot cocoa, a quiet corner and a highlighting pen - which you'll need, so you can turn to friends and family later and say, "Unbelievable! Listen to this!"
That's it - 20 of the top food/cooking books selected for you by Nancy Leson of the Seattle Times. I can't say as I've read many of them - but I plan to.
10 days and counting....
